The invention relates to a machine for binding pages, sheets, sees of pages or sections in order to present them in a unitary assembled form while at the same time facilitating arrangement and consultation of the pages.
More specifically, the invention is concerned with binding machines joining the pages together by the application of glue and of covsr.
Such machines, which are widespread in industry, are so designed that a gripper carriage is reciprocated along different operating stations.
Generally such a machine designed in this manner comprises a first loading station at which a group of pages or sections is manually inserted between the laws of the gripper on the carriage for loading.
After the loading station there is a routing station which comprises a rotating member in order to cut into the spine of the stack of pages as the latter is moved along by the carriage. Such a station is also designed to cut grooves in the back face.
The routing station is followed by a gluing station at which the back face is coated with a layer of adhesive product which is generally applied in a liquid state after being melted.
After this gluing station the carriage moves the stack of gripped pages into alignment with an encasing station in order to align the stack of sheets with a cover which is pressed into contact with the routed and glued back face in order to ensure the fixation thereof. The encasing station is, generally, placed in alignment with a discharge conveyor. Such an encasing station comprises a sinking table and jaws, in the form of blades, adapted to press the cover on the two surfaces of the sheets in the parts thereof adjacent to the back.
Owing to the displacement of the carriage past the different successive stations the machines of this type constitute an open path flanked by independent operating stations which are made accessible as soon as the carriage is not in a position, for a given instant or temporarily, in which it is aligned with each such station.
Such a design does not comply with the safety conditions for workers having to operate the machine.
In fact, the accessibility of all the stations is a source of accidents and physical injury, which may be serious, to the workers or even to well informed and cautious maintenance engineers.
This problem has however already been seen and there have been various proposals in the prior art in order to provide a remedy. All the designs suggested have involved the use of separate hoods for each working station with the provision of a switch adapted to interrupt the supply of power to the station or otherwise prevent it from functioning if the hood should be opened.
Such means certainly make it possible to reduce the risks of accidents but they are incapable of completely eliminating the risks owing to the lack of effectiveness of the technical means used and owing to the habit of the personnel and operators of intentionally overriding the safety means in order to facilitate the operation or function of the machine or of maintenance operations thereon.
In other words it is possible to say that all the systems produced so far only lead to incomplete or ineffective security with respect to at least some of the operating stations of a binding machine operating by the application of glue and a cover.